Sewing-machine table



y 21, 1968 K. A. BLEVINS 3,384,037

SEWING-MACHINE TABLE Filed July 26, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 KENNETH A.BLEVINS INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS May 21, 1968 K. A. BLEVINS 3,384,037

SEWING-MACHINE TABLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 26, 1967 FIG 3INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEYS L. KENNETH A. BLEVINS United States Patent 3,384,937SEWiNG-MACHINE TABLE Kenneth A. Blevins, Missoula, Mont., assignor toSirco Manufacturing, Inc., Missoula, Mont, a corporation of WashingtonContinuation-impart of application Ser. No. 566,422,

July 19, 1966. This application July 26, 1967, Ser.

8 Claims. (Cl. 108-17) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A table convertiblefrom a one-level structure usable for general purposes to a two-levelstructure in which the lower-level component provides support for aportable sewing-machine and the upper-level component overhangs suchlower component and serves as a working surface additive to the workingplatform of the machine, the upper component having a U-shaped planconfiguration along the margin which overhangs.

The present application is a continuation-in-part of my application forLetters Patent of the United States filed July 19, 1966, Ser. No.566,422; issued Oct. 10, 1967, as Patent No. 3,345,958.

The invention pertains to a table for a portable sewingmachine, One moreespecially in which the table is comprised of two sections one afoundation section on which the base portion of the machine rests, andthe other a fly section on which material which is being sewed issupported at a height properly correlated to the sewing mechanism of themachine, and for its principal object aims to provide a structure whichwhen not in use as a sewing machine table may be easily and quicklyconverted to a one-level structure and thus made double-duty in nature.

As a further and more particular object the invention aims to provide atable of the above character is which the fly section is swingablyconnected to the foundation section for parallel-motion movement, and inswinging to the upper of its permitted two levels moves into a positionoverhanging the foundation section.

A yet further object of the invention is to provide a table in which theoverhanging margin of the fly section is U-shaped in plan configurationto provide side arms which lie at each side of the base of thesewing-machine to hold the machine against lateral displacement upon thetable and also extend the machines working platform so as to give thesame greater width for supporting material on which a sewing operationis being performed.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a table havingfolding legs of perfected construction.

The above and other objects and advantages in view, looking to theprovision of a perfected convertible sewing-machine table, will appearand be understood in the course of the following description and claims,the invention consisting in the novel construction and in the adaptationand combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

Inthe accompanying drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view with the fly section shown in the raisedposition occupied when the table is being used for a sewing operation.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are a top plan view and an underside plan view,respectively, with the fly section lowered to a position co-planar withthe foundation section, and in the latter view showing the table legsfolded; and

FIGS. 4, and 6 are fragmentary transverse vertical sectional views drawnto an enlarged scale on lines 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6, respectively, of FIG. 3.

A conventional portable sewing-machine has a platform serving as theworking surface, and provides a supporting base which elevates theplatform in a fairly substantial degree. The more favored tables forthese portable machines are two-level in character to provide a lowersurface on which the base is seated and an upper surface which occupiesmuch the same level as the elevated working platform. There are twotypes of two-level tables. In one type the two surfaces are immovablewith respect to one another. The other is a convertible type of tableallowing the two surfaces to be brought into a co-planar flushrelationship when the table is not being used to support thesewing-machine.

The table of the present invention is of the convertible type butwhereas it has been usual heretofore to have a dropleaf on which tosupport the sewing-machine my table has a fixed-level stand for thesupport of the machine and has attached to such stand a raiseleaf, toproduce the upper-level surface. The two sections are cut by a copingband-saw from a single rectangular piece of plastic-faced plywood or thelike, say 22 x 38" size, and are denoted by the reference numeral 10 inthe instance of the fixed or foundation section and by 11 in theinstance of the fly section. In making its cut the coping saw traces apath somewhat suggestive of the Greek letter omega, initiating the cutin a transverse direction at a point more or less central to the length.The cut is made so that a tongue 12 occurs in the foundation section,being located median to the width thereof. An 11" length and 10" widthare suitable dimensions. As the mating counterpart of the tongue thereis thus formed in the fiy section a fairly deep pocket defined betweenside arms 14.

Three folding legs 15, 16 and 17 support the foundation section 10, anda parallel-motion linkage connects the fly section to such foundationsection for swing movement between a lowered flush position and theelevated position in which the fly section is illustrated in FIG. 1.

The legs are attached by pivot pins 18 to respective brackets which aresecured to the underside of the foundation section. Two of the brackets20 and 21 are positioned adjacent the outer end of the tongue, spaced amoderate distance one from the other at opposite sides of thelongitudinal median line of the section and have their pivot pinsdisposed transversely on cocked axes which cause the free ends of thetwo related legs 15 and 16 to progressively spread as the legs areopened. The third bracket 22 is located at the opposite end of thefoundation section on the longitudinal median line thereof, and therelated leg 17 is comprised of two lengths of tubing joined togetherthrough the greater part of the length and turned outwardly at the freeends to give a wide footing.

The span between the bearing feet of the opened legs 15 and 16approximates the transverse span of the footing which is provided by theleg 17, this being somewhat less than the transverse width of the tableso that the feet will not protrude laterally beyond perpendicularsdropped from the side edges of the table.

The brackets provide a channel opening in which the root end of therelated leg is received, and plugs 19 are fitted in such root ends. Theplugs produce a thickened wall which is traversed by the related pivotpin 18, the two ends of the pin being supported from a respective one ofthe two cheek plates which define the channel opening of the bracket.Mounting flanges extend outwardly from bottom edges of the cheek plates.

A bridge 32 connects the cheek plates of each bracket at the back endthereof, being placed so that the same will operate as a stop limitingthe outward swing movement of the legs to approximately or which is tosay 15 or so beyond a transverse vertical plane which includes therespective pivot pin. Each leg carries a latch pin 33 which catchesbehind the inner wall of the bridge 3 when the leg reaches said stoppedposition, the latch pin eing released by endwise pressure manuallyapplied against the yielding resistance of a spring 34.

Said parallel-motion linkage is comprised of two rods each bent to aU-shape with the cross-arm 23 of each U serving as the fulcrum and theside branches 24 serving as radius arms. The radius arms have a jog atthe free ends to produce a shoulder-rest 25, and have journal tips 26turned outwardly parallel with the cross-arm. The two cross-arms eachhas a length somewhat greater than the width of the tongue 12 andextends transversely thereof, being attached to the underside of thetongue by hooklike clips 27 for rocking movement, one cross-arm adjacentto one end of the tongue and the other cross-arm adjacent to the otherend. Similar clips 23 journal the out-turned tips 26 of the radius arms24 to the underside of the fly section.

As will be seen from an inspection of FIG. 4, the radius arms can beswung upwardly through somewhat more than a 90 are, at which point thefly section is brought to bear upon the shoulder-rests 2 5, Whenlowered, the fly section engages stops 30 and can be secured in thislowered position by pivoted keepers 31.

It is thought that the invention and the manner of its usage will beclearly understood from the foregoing detailed description of mynow-preferred illustrated embodiment. Changes in the details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of theinvention and it is accordingly my intention that no limitations beimplied and that the hereto annexed claims be given the broadestinterpretation to which the employed language fairly admits.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A table for a portable sewing-machine, a machine being mounted upon abase having a seating surface upon its underside and at its front endhaving a working platform extending the full width of the base andraised a substantial distance above said seating surface, the tablecomprising foundation and ily sections interconnected by radius arms forparallel-motion swing movement about transverse horizontal axes betweena lowered position lying co-planar to the foundation section and araised position elevated above the foundation section a distanceapproximating the vertical spacing between the machines working platformand the seating surface of the base, the foundation section being formedwith a tongue extending longitudinally of the section and on which saidbase is adapted to seat, the fly section being formed with a pocketwhich finds a mating fit with the tongue when the fly section occupiesits lowered position.

2. A sewing-machine table according to claim 1 in which there are twopairs of said radius arms one pair located beyond one side edge of thetongue and the other pair located beyond the other side edge.

3. A sewingmachine table according to claim 2 in which said radius armscomprise the side branches of U- shaped rods, the cross-arm of each Uunderlying the tongue and being attached thereto for rocker motion, thefree ends of the side branches being turned outwardly and attached tothe underside of the fiy section for pivotal motion about a coincidingaxis paralleling said rocker axis of the related cross-arm.

4. A sewing-machine tab-1e according to claim 2 in which at least one ofthe radius arms in each of said pairs has a jogged end portion on whichthe fly section is brought to bear upon swinging the radius armsupwardly through and beyond a perpendicular raised from the axis aboutwhich the swing motion is made.

5. A sewing-machine table according to claim 1 having supporting legsattached for folding movement to the underside of the foundationsection.

6. A sewing-machine table according to claim 1 in which the table isproduced from a single piece of sheet stock divided by a coping cut toform the two sections.

7. A sewing-machine table according to claim 1 having stops protrudingfrom the underside of the foundation section and against which theunderside of the fly section bears when the two sections occupy theirco-planar position.

8. A sewing-machine table according to claim 7 having keepers carried bythe fiy section and engageable with the underside of the foundationsection to hold the two sections in a co-planar relation.

References Cited UNTTED STATES PATENTS 2,144,801 1/1939 Hohmann 1122202,305,343 12/1942 Gadbois 112217.1 2,631,074 3/1953 Stump 108-1023,011,846 12/1961 Blevins 108-112 3,264,046 8/1966 Preuss 312-263,347,184 10/1967 Kiraly 10817 3,345,958 10/1967 Blevins 108-13 BOBBY R.GAY, Primary Examiner.

GLENN O. FINCH, Assistant Examiner.

